Beth Mead returns!
Arsenal Women’s fans were delighted at the prospect of maybe seeing Beth Mead return to the match-day squad, after Jonas Eidevall confirmed in his pre-match press conference for our game against Aston Villa that fans could possibly see Mead grace the pitch after nearly a year out of competitive football.
Mead picked up an ACL injury last season against Manchester United that’s seen her miss almost a year of football, including the just past Women’s World Cup. Mead, who was a standout performer for both Arsenal and England last season, was a huge loss to both club and country. Walking away from the Women’s Euro’s in 2022 with the Golden boot and Player of the tournament, Mead being absent was a huge blow for the England Women’s side.
Mead herself has sat down with many people since and reported how hard it has been to come back and recover, injuries are a given in football, but getting back to your best is always a hard journey to embark on, but with the support of her Arsenal and England teammates, the club staff and medical department, Mead looks to have come back with a fire in her belly, ready to go.
After just over 11 months, Mead and Arsenal Women’s fans got what they had all been waiting for, a standing ovation went up around The Emirates as the striker prepared to come on for the first time in nearly a year, and you could feel the excitement and relief in the air. Stepping onto the Emirates with the roar of the Arsenal fans, delighted to see her back. A huge moment for her and the Arsenal staff, after such a long hard journey back, Beth Mead was finally back on the pitch.
Coming on in the 88th minute, she got straight into the thick of it, almost landing a header into the net on her first touch. After just 4 minutes on the pitch, the Arsenal Women had managed to level up the scores after a thunderbolt from Katie McCabe went into the back of the Villa net. It took Mead only 6 minutes on the pitch to make the difference, setting up Alessia Russo for her first goal for the club, putting Arsenal 2-1 up and ultimately winning the game for Arsenal.
Arsenal were 1-0 down when Mead entered the pitch in the 88th minute and only 6 minutes later, they were 2-1 up and looking to walk away with all three points. Having Mead back definitely spurred on the Arsenal Women and she walked away with an assist after only playing 16 minutes total.
What’s your thoughts Gooners? How excited were you to see Mead back in action?
Daisy Mae
Follow JustArsenal’s Gooner Women on Just Gooner Women on Twitter for regular updates on the Arsenal Womens Team!
Do you want to read more about the Arsenal Women’s Team? Click here….
